{"id":539186,"date":"2026-04-19T09:57:21","date_gmt":"2026-04-19T09:57:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/539186\/"},"modified":"2026-04-19T09:57:21","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T09:57:21","slug":"how-the-masters-protects-its-green-jackets-and-other-inside-stories","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/539186\/","title":{"rendered":"How the Masters protects its green jackets and other inside stories"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

AUGUSTA, Ga.\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Lawrence Bennett wasn\u2019t only a guardian of the green jackets<\/a> \u2014 the iconic garment of Augusta National \u2014 but he also oversaw their cremation.<\/p>\n

That was among his many responsibilities in a career that spanned 51 years, where he first picked up litter then picked up everyone from celebrities to sports heroes to ex-presidents as the club\u2019s top chauffeur.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll I\u2019ve known from Day 1 was Augusta National,\u201d said Bennett, 72, sitting in the living room of his tidy home six miles from the storied course. His hallways are painted Masters green. Paintings of the course hang on the walls, as do photographs of famous people with heartfelt inscriptions.<\/p>\n

For decades, he embraced the club. The members hugged him back, from bankrolling his college tuition to sending him generous gifts when he retired in 2013 and donations when his beloved wife, Cheryl, died in 2020 after suffering a massive stroke.<\/p>\n

\"Lawrence <\/p>\n

Lawrence Bennett, a longtime chauffeur at Augusta National, holds a framed portion of the logo that appears on the green Masters jackets.<\/p>\n

(Sam Farmer \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

Bennett isn\u2019t watching the Masters<\/a> this week \u2014 he tuned in for Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and some other greats over the years \u2014 and he said he\u2019s never swung a golf club. But his job was his life, even though he moonlighted as a high school teacher and administrator.<\/p>\n

His father, too, bled green. The late and legendary Freddie Bennett began as a young caddie and worked his way up to caddie master, looking for that ideal chemistry between club members or tournament competitors and the men who carried their golf bags and advised them on putting lines.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce you work at Augusta National<\/a>, they don\u2019t want half of your time,\u201d the younger Bennett said. \u201cThey want all of your time. And that\u2019s what he did, and that\u2019s what I did.\u201d<\/p>\n

Father and son were highly regarded at the club.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no doubt they commanded respect,\u201d said Ward Clayton, author of \u201cThe Legendary Caddies of Augusta National.\u201d \u201cBut at the same time, they understood, whether you\u2019re working for Augusta National or a top corporation, you\u2019ve got to follow the guidelines of the place you\u2019re working for. I think they understood that to the highest degree.\u201d<\/p>\n

Augusta National opens its gates to the world every April but otherwise is so secretive that it won\u2019t confirm how many members it has, let alone name them. The waiting list for Masters tickets has been closed for decades and patron badges are passed down through families like heirlooms. The club is closed from mid-May until October, and new buildings appear as if by magic, yet fit in as if they\u2019ve been around forever.<\/p>\n

As his father and other club employees did, Bennett signed a non-disclosure agreement that lasted 10 years. Now, more than a decade after his retirement, he\u2019s telling some of his stories.<\/p>\n

Hot pockets<\/p>\n

When an Augusta member died, left the club or simply wanted a new green jacket, Bennett was responsible for disposing of the old garments. That meant cutting off a coat\u2019s emblem on the pocket, buttons and name tags in the lining, then taking what was left to a local funeral home for cremation. It wasn\u2019t an everyday event. Bennett and a security guard from the club would bring 20-30 of the jackets that would be placed in a coffin-like cardboard box and pushed into a 2,400-degree oven.<\/p>\n

\"Lawrence <\/p>\n

Lawrence Bennett, longtime chauffeur at Augusta National, points to a painting of the course in his home.<\/p>\n

(Sam Farmer \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had to wait until the ashes cooled down to make sure we weren\u2019t leaving buttons or anything identifying about it, and the funeral home would take care of the rest,\u201d Bennett said. \u201cThey would just toss it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Occasionally, deceased members were buried in their green jackets.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome members\u2019 families started to request that,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd I know one guy \u2014 I had to go take the jacket, a local member \u2014 I had to watch them put it on him. Didn\u2019t like that too good. Watch them put it on, fixing it neat, and report back to the club manager that it was on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Watch your speed<\/p>\n

The club had three station wagons and a long blue limousine when Bennett began chauffeuring at age 17. He was well spoken and polite, so his bosses soon began sending him on the most important jobs.<\/p>\n

Once, a member named Alexander Chisholm from Mississippi had come into town for a party and round of golf, then stayed over for a dinner at a fancy place called the Green Boundary Club in Aiken, S.C. Bennett brought him in the limo.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy dad said, `Boy, if you\u2019re going to South Carolina, slow down because they\u2019ll give you a ticket in a minute. They watch for Augusta tags to give you tickets,\u2019\u201d Bennett recalled.<\/p>\n

He started slow and cautious.<\/p>\n

\u201cMr. Chisholm, with a big cigar in his mouth, said, \u2018Can you go any faster than this?\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cNow, I\u2019m 19. That\u2019s all I needed to hear. I stepped on the gas.\u201d<\/p>\n

As soon as he crossed the Savannah River, the police lights pulled up behind him.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe officer wasn\u2019t real nice,\u201d Bennett said. \u201cHe said, `Boy, can\u2019t you read? Can\u2019t you see that speed limit?\u2019 Mr. Chisholm was in back and said, `How much is the ticket?\u2019 The officer said it was going to cost me $150.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chisholm peeled off three $100 bills.<\/p>\n

\u201cHere,\u201d the member told the officer. \u201cTake $300, because we\u2019re going to be coming back the same damn way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hail to the chief<\/p>\n

Back when he was in first grade, Bennett feigned illness so he could get sent home and spend some time with his dad, whom he hadn\u2019t seen in two weeks.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would hear him come home and get in the bed, but I didn\u2019t see him because he came home when I was asleep,\u201d he said. \u201cHe left when I was asleep. So one day I was at school, and I played sick. So I told my teacher my stomach was hurting.\u201d<\/p>\n

His mother was working at the time, so the school called the club.<\/p>\n

\u201cDad came to get me, and he took me to work, gave me a Coca-Cola and a little pack of crackers,\u201d he recalled. \u201cHe said, `You can\u2019t be running around, because the President is here.\u2019 Well, I\u2019m 6 or 7. I thought he was talking about George Washington.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then, his father pulled a milk crate up to a hedge.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe said, `You want to see the President?\u2019 So I went out, and he put me on this box, and I could look over the top of the hedge, and there was Eisenhower. That was Clifford Roberts, and that was Bobby Jones,\u201d he said, referencing the Roberts and Jones, co-founders of Augusta National.<\/p>\n

Bennett has some snapshot memories of the president.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember him being a big man, big stomach,\u201d he said. \u201cHe had brown pants on with pleats, and he got up and made his tee shot off number one, and he looked over and saw me. He did just like this [crisply saluting the child]. I did it back at him.\u201d<\/p>\n

The moment left an impression.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was my first really inkling of what my daddy did,\u201d he said, \u201cand the type of people that were at the club.\u201d<\/p>\n

Supreme honor<\/p>\n

As a young chauffeur, Bennett had all sorts of driving duties. He would take members\u2019 wives antique shopping or sit through movies with the children of members who were bored at the tournament.<\/p>\n

He picked up Christopher Lee at the airport once, and \u2014 as a big fan of Dracula \u2014 he half-believed he saw the English actor transforming into a vampire while they drove to the club.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs we got back, it was getting dark, and all I could see \u2014 this was in my mind now \u2014 those fiery red eyes in the rear view mirror,\u201d said Bennett, recounting the meeting on the \u201c70 Years of Masters Magic\u201d podcast.<\/p>\n

\"Lawrence <\/p>\n

Lawrence Bennett, longtime chauffeur at Augusta National, shows some Augusta National keepsakes at his home.<\/p>\n

(Sam Farmer \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen he got out, I had to tell him. I said, `You know what? I was nervous because all I saw was your eyes and your face in the mirror.\u2019 And it was illegal to get an autograph, but I got it.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2013, the last Masters for Bennett, he drove Arnold Palmer back to the airport and they both got teary rolling back down Magnolia Lane and out of the club.<\/p>\n

Maybe the most memorable assignment was picking up Sandra Day O\u2019Connor. He was especially excited because he had just been teaching his ninth-grade students about her, the first female justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.<\/p>\n

The two became fast friends, and O\u2019Connor gave him her personal pocket constitution. She inscribed it: \u201cFor Lawrence Bennett and his ninth-grade class, always remember the constitution protects you. Sandra Day O\u2019Connor.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her husband, John Jay O\u2019Connor, told Bennett: \u201cDo you know what she has given you? She takes that to the bench every day she goes to work.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s framed in Bennett\u2019s den.<\/p>\n

From the heart<\/p>\n

Bennett, whose mother was a nurse and semi-professional bowler, was the first in his family to finish high school, and first to go to college, where he would earn three degrees. His younger sister followed him, earning a degree in nursing.<\/p>\n

Tuition at Paine College wasn\u2019t easy on the family. That\u2019s where the club stepped in.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes my dad didn\u2019t have the money, so the club manager [Phil Wahl] said, `Lawrence, Freddie, everything OK?\u2019 My dad said, `No, Mr. Wahl, I\u2019ve got to pay $855.53 for that boy\u2019s semester.\u2019 Mr. Wahl said, `Go to the front desk and get a petty cash slip.\u2019 They gave daddy $855.53 per semester for four or five years. Never asked for it back.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I owe a lot to Augusta National. I tried to pay it back but they wouldn\u2019t take it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Freddie Bennett retired in 1999 after 46 years as caddie master and 51 years on the property \u2014 just as long as his son would work there. He died in 2006.<\/p>\n

\u201cPaine College, this huge chapel, we had daddy\u2019s funeral down there,\u201d the younger Bennett said. \u201cIt was packed. If you looked at the private field, you thought it was tournament time. The private jets came to his funeral.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe club manager got up and spoke, and he talked about all of the things that Freddie had done, all the achievements he had done. But he said Freddie\u2019s greatest accomplishment at this club: `He gave us Lawrence.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cI lost it,\u201d he said, tears welling, \u201cI never thought anybody thought that of me.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"AUGUSTA, Ga.\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Lawrence Bennett wasn\u2019t only a guardian of the green jackets \u2014 the iconic garment of Augusta National…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":539187,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[14664,440,185994,16957,8959,2864,23226,5904,95945,185992,185993,6590,100070,101,4238,56,54,55,1942],"class_list":{"0":"post-539186","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-golf","8":"tag-augusta-national","9":"tag-club","10":"tag-club-manager","11":"tag-dad","12":"tag-decade","13":"tag-family","14":"tag-father","15":"tag-golf","16":"tag-green-jacket","17":"tag-lawrence-bennett","18":"tag-master-ticket","19":"tag-masters","20":"tag-member","21":"tag-sports","22":"tag-time","23":"tag-uk","24":"tag-united-kingdom","25":"tag-unitedkingdom","26":"tag-year"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/539186","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=539186"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/539186\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/539187"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=539186"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=539186"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=539186"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}